(3) YA Seventeen-year-old Colin and his best friend, Ren, are on their way home from a gay club when Ren is apparently attacked by a ghostly hand in the forest. After that, Ren starts acting strangely: he is obsessed with bluebells, lies about unexplained bruises, and is snappy and withdrawn. Eventually, Colin learns that an evil faerie is responsible for Ren’s behavior—and that Ren’s life is in danger. While the story is sufficiently creepy, there is also appeal in the authentically represented (platonic) love story between the two friends.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(2) K-3 On the vast grasslands of Inner Mongolia, a boy named Anand dreams of be-coming a wrestler and earning the jangga, a collar of honor adorned with “silk ribbons in all colors.” Across the seasons, he trains with nature itself: lifting sheep as if “they’re as light as the clouds in the sky,” halting a charging bull, running alongside horses, and dancing “like an eagle in the snow.” When a sandstorm threatens the land, he stands his ground, joined by other wrestlers who rise together to protect their home. The story celebrates strength, resilience, and unity, offering young readers both inspiration and cultural insight. At the heart of the tale is Inner Mongolian wrestling, a traditional sport given “intangible cultural heritage” status in China in 2006, and Liu’s illustrations amplify this spirit: bold, sweeping brushstrokes fill each page with motion and force, while the wrestlers’ massive figures and flowing ribbons convey both power and joy. Earthy tones root the story in the natural world, while bursts of vivid color capture the pride and festivity of the tradition. This English edition (translated by the publisher from Dutch rather than directly from Chinese) is accurate but somewhat flattens the poetic and cultural richness around the wrestlers’ ­connection to nature. Nevertheless, it remains a striking and accessible book.

Reviewer: Weileen Wang | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2025

(3) K-3 A lonely, overlooked green apple wonders why it wasn’t picked, pondering its imperfections. With rhyming text, the story playfully references iconic apple-related figures, from Newton to Snow White, while exploring themes of self-doubt and resilience. Big, bold illustrations in soft earth tones enhance the narrative's humor and pathos. Ultimately, the apple’s transformation into a tree teaches young readers about self-worth and the power of embracing uniqueness. A sweet ode to late bloomers.

Reviewer: Summer Edward

(1) K-3 Illustrated by ShinYeon Moon. Millie visits her laolao (grandmother) in spring, and together they make Millie's favorite dish -- homemade dumplings. To get the right ingredients, the pair heads to Chinatown to visit several lively neighborhood markets, buying vegetables and shrimp as well as lychee for a special treat. Back home, they prepare the filling; fold and cook the dumplings; and share a tasty meal and a poignant moment. As the seasons go by, however, Laolao's strength and cognition wane, and she becomes "too tired" for all that preparation. In winter, Millie leads her parents to the markets, and the three of them make dumplings for Laolao, accompanied by gifts from the shopkeepers -- flowers, medicinal roots, a lucky scroll, and more. Eye-catching illustrations feature expansive double-page spreads of the neighborhood shops, drawing readers in to explore each tiny detail. The pictures resonate with love, complementing the predominant theme of family closeness and the book's casual diversity (Mom is Chinese; Dad is Black). Between the warm palette and the close-ups of Laolao's and Millie's faces, it's clear that joy comes through food for these two, and they share this special bond. This book does a gentle yet superb job of showing the effects of older family members experiencing age-related issues, but from the child's perspective -- what they see and feel and how they try to help as best they can. An author's note provides background information and the author's own ("no longer secret") family dumpling recipe.

Reviewer: J. Elizabeth Mills | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lynn Scurfield. Before moving to America, Dandan and her family celebrate Lunar New Year in China with her best friend Yueyue and her family. They eat egg-and-chive filled dumplings dipped in black vinegar and soy sauce; later, the girls make celebratory red paper snowflakes, and Yueyue gives Dandan paper supplies to bring to America. The move proves lonely and difficult for Dandan, until she makes a friend whose favorite color is also red. With bright, warm colors and curved shapes, Scurfield enhances the tender story's hopeful tone. An author's note provides more details about Chinese New Year; instructions for making cut-paper snowflakes are also appended.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) PS Bold colors, thick paint strokes, and a slice-of-life story beautifully coalesce in this whimsical, contemplative, and visual exploration of the everyday. The nearly wordless tale begins, "Max can bring a letter to the mailbox all by himself today." An adventure ensues, all in pictures, as Max explores his urban neighborhood. When Max’s errand is complete, the mailbox is revealed to be...right outside Max's home.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) YA In 2009 Gujiao, China, teen orphans Luli and Yun labor long, mind-numbing hours at an electronics factory. Then Yun discovers she is pregnant by her shady boyfriend, a suspected bride trafficker. The girls navigate their severely limited options while trying to avoid being fired, fined, or kidnapped. Liu's candid prose and matter-of-fact tone heighten the horror of the harrowing conditions many Chinese women are subjected to daily.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(3) 4-6 Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi series. Illustrated by J. G. Jones. Deckhands aboard a transport barge hear six short stories about Jedi Luke Skywalker; the framing story helps tie the overall narrative together. Using different perspectives, Liu creatively relates both familiar and new events to further illuminate Luke's character. Preceding each legend are quotes from Star Wars films and Jones's full-color illustrations, which pay homage to Ralph McQuarrie's conceptual illustrations for the original movie trilogy.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(3) YA When eighteen-year-old Mei is offered a high-paying live-in-tutor gig on Arrow Island for the summer, she can't refuse. Compared to her mother's tiny apartment, life with the wealthy Morisons seems glamorous, but it's also fraught with mystery--both earthly and supernatural. Well-wrought racial and economic tension guide Mei's journey of self-discovery, even as she contends with a truly creepy ghostly menace.

Reviewer: Lisa Catherine Findlay

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Christina Forshay. Mei Mei lacks the patience to correctly imitate her grandfather's tai chi; old Gong Gong is short on flexibility when Mei Mei shows him yoga poses she learned in school. Though they don't exactly convey the pace and fluidity of movement in tai chi forms, the book's illustrations are inviting, and playful text usefully describes the two practices (notes on both appended). Bib.

Reviewer: Bridget McCaffrey

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Kristyna Litten. Bear has many talents; riding a bike isn't among them. He reads up on riding and otherwise obsesses, but ultimately it's his heart, not his intellect, that comes through when he must ride a bike to save a young goat. Anxious kids will appreciate the book's don't-overthink-it message, plus there's a wealth of visual texture (a checklist, a graph) within.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) YA In a near-future world where viral Alzheimer's-like Vergets disease threatens to make everyone lose their minds, most people receive a memory key implant as infants. Lora Mint's key malfunctions, leaving her with awful headaches and revived memories of her dead mother. Liu creates a believable world, but flat characters may keep readers from fully investing in the story.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen. In 1971, the tomb of "Lady Dai" was discovered, virtually intact and of enormous archaeological significance. Here, buried in 158 BCE, was her still-soft body and more than a thousand artifacts. Liu-Perkins describes the discovery in fascinating detail; brief imagined scenes supplement the evidence. Illustrative materials include maps and well-captioned photos as well as Brannen's watercolors of the fictionalized scenes. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2014

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Peterson. Wooby lives a quiet, rather lonely life in a neighborhood where people keep to themselves. When flamboyant, unconventional Peep moves in, Wooby expects trouble--and gets it. However, the two do have something in common, and they become friends in the end. Detailed cartoon-style illustrations and comical commentary from the animal neighbors add pizzazz to a familiar story line.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Bei Lynn. Translation adapted by Jamie White. In this Taiwanese import, "supersaurus" Gus traipses around the city picking up schoolkids. He's beloved by all, but his heavy-footed-ness creates giant potholes and traffic snarls. After being pulled from duty, Gus finds a new lease on life. The story's mild suspense is just right for the audience. Scribbly watercolor and pencil illustrations have a child-drawn look.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2013

(1) 4-6 Eight vignettes in graphic-novel format bring Liu's childhood in 1970s China to life. Much will seem the same, but the particulars make all the difference. Author and illustrator together give an unvarnished, intimate account of a real childhood: plain-speaking, rough-hewn, and down-to-earth. While the book's time and place are very different from our own, there's not a hint of sentimentality or exoticism. Timeline. Glos.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2012

(3) 4-6 When twelve-year-old Paris's peripatetic parents say they're finally settling down, she decides to make friends at her new school. Unfortunately, this means being pushed around by a bully who insists Paris take part in a dare involving a dead girl. Liu's story, refreshingly, features a Chinese American narrator whose ethnicity is not at the story's center.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(3) PS Recalling the famous title sequence from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, this wordless book consists entirely of paintings of umbrellas as viewed from above, gradually gathering and revealed to be sheltering children on their way to school on a rainy day. The concept is slight but its execution is completely gorgeous; an enclosed CD of sprightly piano variations is cued to the page-turns as a soundtrack.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton